Perforated plate for meat grinding reclamation system

ABSTRACT

A meat grinding reclamation system is disclosed herein. The system uses a plate having a plurality of holes through which meat is processed, and a smaller number of waste material indentations that feed waste material away from the meat into separate uniform curved openings. The center of the plate is provided with a shaft opening, which allows use of a center drive shaft across the plate.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to andthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/059,524 filed Oct.22, 2013, and titled Perforated Plate for Meat Grinding ReclamationSystem, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety byreference.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

The present invention relates, in general, to a meat grindingreclamation system and, more particularly, to a system for grinding andreclaiming meat in a two-stage coaxial process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern meat grinding systems not only grind meat, but also separate meatfrom undesirable material, such as gristle, hard fat, connective tissue,sinew, and bone. Such systems typically provide the unprocessed meat toa pump or screw system, which delivers the unprocessed meat to a kniferotating against a perforated plate. The knife cuts the meat intosmaller pieces as the pump or screw forces the meat through theperforated plate. Centrifugal force generated by the pump or rotatingscrew drives the meat toward the perimeter of the plate and concentratesthe undesirable material near the center of the plate. The platetypically contains an opening into a pipe that directs the undesirablematerial to a storage container. Once enough of the undesirable materialhas been collected, the undesirable material is fed through a secondmeat grinding system to further separate any remaining meat from theundesirable material in a reclamation process similar to that describedabove. The meat reclaimed from the undesirable material is then addedback to the meat ground in the initial pass and the further resultingundesirable material is discarded or otherwise processed separately.

One drawback associated with such prior art devices is the use of largetroughs or indentations in the plate to direct waste material to thecollection passage, once the waste material is separated from the meat.It would be desirable to reduce the size of the indentations, toincrease the number of holes in the plate available to process the meat.

Another drawback associated with such prior art devices is the placementof the waste material curved opening at the center of the plate,preventing use of the drive shaft to drive beyond the plate. It would bedesirable to relocate the curved opening to allow use of the drive shaftbeyond the plate. The difficulties encountered discussed here and aboveare substantially eliminated by the present invention.

SUMMARY

A system for grinding and reclaiming meat is provided with a first meatgrinder and a second meat grinder. Each meat grinder is provided with aperforated plate and a screw. A drive shaft is coupled to the screw ofthe first grinder, passed through the first perforated plate, and iscoupled to the screw of the second grinder. A first rotating knife iscoupled to the drive shaft near the first perforated plate, and a secondknife is coupled to the drive shaft near the second perforated plate.The first perforated plate is provided with an outlet that sendsundesirable material from the first grinder into the second grinder. Anoutlet is coupled to the second perforated plate to remove undesirablematerial from the second grinder. A pressurized system is coupled to theoutlet of the second grinder to adjust the backpressure of theundesirable material on the meat in the second grinder.

One aspect of the meat grinding assembly is the use of a single driveshaft to power the first screw, the second screw, the first knife, andthe second knife.

Another aspect of the meat grinding assembly relates to outlets beingprovided around the drive shaft in fluid communication with the secondgrinder.

Another aspect of the meat grinding assembly is the coaxial orientationof the first meat grinder and the second meat grinder.

These and other aspects will be more readily understood by reference tothe following description and figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of the meat grindingassembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the rear of the meat grindingassembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of the front of the meat grindingassembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a front perspective view of a first perforated plateof the meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates a rear perspective view of the first perforated plateof the meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 illustrates a front perspective view of the second grinderhousing of the meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 illustrates a front perspective view of a first stud pin of themeat grinding assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 a illustrates a rear elevation of a second drive shaft andflights of the meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 b illustrates a front elevation of the second drive shaft andflights of the meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 c illustrates a side elevation of the second drive shaft andflights of the meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 illustrates a side elevation of the second stud pin of the meatgrinding assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 illustrates a rear elevation of the second perforated plate ofthe meat grinding assembly of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a front perspective view in partial cutaway of themeat grinding assembly of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION

A meat grinding assembly is shown generally as 10 in FIG. 1. Theembodiments of the invention described below are illustrative only andare not to be interpreted by limiting the scope of the presentinvention.

The meat grinding assembly 10 has a first meat grinder 12 and a secondmeat grinder 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the first meat grinder 12 isprovided with a first grinder housing 16 provided with interior rifling18 of the lands 20 and grooves 22 (FIGS. 1-3). Coupled to the firstgrinder housing 16 is a hopper 24, which is preferably provided with acapacity of between 1-5000 kg, more preferably between 10-2000 kg, andmost preferably between 750-1250 kg. Provided within the first grinderhousing 16 and hopper 24 is a first drive shaft 26 provided with aplurality of flights 28. The first drive shaft 26 is coupled to a motor30. The motor 30 may be of any type known in the art and may be singlespeed, multiple speed, or variable speed.

The first drive shaft 26 is provided with a center slot 32 into which isprovided a compression spring 34. Provided in the center slot 32 overthe compression spring 34 is a first stud pin 36. A first knife bladeholder 38, having four arms 37, is provided with a center opening 39only slightly larger than the diameter of the first stud pin 36. Theknife blade holder 38 may, of course, be provided with any desirednumber of arms 37, or any desired configuration. The center opening 39of the first knife blade holder 38 is provided over the first stud pin36, and the arms 37 of the first knife blade holder 38, fit into matingengagement with slots 41 provided in the end of the first drive shaft26. The slots 41 are preferably provided slightly larger than the arms37 of the first knife blade holder 38 to prevent undesired play betweenthe first knife blade holder 38 and the first drive shaft 26.

Provided in the first knife blade holder 38 are four knife inserts 40.The first knife blade holder 38 and knife inserts 40 are preferablyslightly longer than prior art blades to provide a more desirablecutting stroke when used in association with the present invention.Additionally, the first knife blade holder 38 and knife inserts 40 arerecessed from a first perforated plate 42 provided over the knife bladeholder 38 and knife inserts 40 and retained to the first grinder housing16 by a first ring nut 44 screwed onto mating engagement with firstthreads 46 provided on the exterior of the first grinder housing 16.

The first perforated plate 42 is provided with a first plurality ofholes 48 (FIGS. 3 and 4). While the holes may be of any desired numberand diameter, in the preferred embodiment, the number of holes isbetween 2-10,000, more preferably between 1,000-8,000, and mostpreferably between about 2,000 and 7,000. In the preferred embodiment,the first perforated plate 42 is about 4 inches to 24 inches indiameter, and more preferably 11 inches in diameter and provided with acenter threaded hub 50 having a drive shaft opening 52 and curvedopenings such as curved opening 54 and other supplemental curvedopenings 54 as illustrated in FIG. 4. While the curved openings 54 maybe of any suitable dimensions and need not necessarily be curved, in thepreferred embodiment, the curved openings 54 are three elongatedkidney-shaped openings having a width preferably between 1-100 times thelargest diameter of the holes 48, more preferably between 2-10 times thelargest diameter of the holes 48, and most preferably between 3-5 timesthe largest diameter of the holes 48.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first perforated plate 42 is provided with anindentation 56 and other supplemental indentations 56, each of which maybe constructed with a flat, curved, sloped, or inclined surface 59 thatleads to one of the curved openings 54. The first perforated plate 42 isprovided with a plate surface 57. While the indentations 56 may be ofany number or design, in the preferred embodiment, the indentations 56are generally straight and/or elongate and extend from the edges of thecurved openings 54 toward the outer edge or circumference 58 of thefirst perforated plate 42. Extending the indentations 56 only partiallyto the perimeter of the first perforated plate 42 allows the firstperforated plate 42 to be provided with more holes 48 near theperimeter. While the indentations 56 may be of any suitableconfiguration, as shown in FIG. 5, the indentations 56 preferably do notextend to within 25%, more preferably do not extend to within 40%, evenmore preferably do not extend to within 50%, even more preferably do notextend to within 60%, and more preferably do not extend to within 66%,of the radial distance to the perimeter of the plate 42 as measured fromthe center of the plate 42 to the perimeter of the plate 42.

The rotary action of the flights 28 of the first drive shaft 26, and theknife inserts 40, working in concert with the difference in densitybetween the meat 136 and the undesirable material causes the undesirablematerial to migrate towards the axis of rotation of the first driveshaft 26 before the meat 136 and the undesirable material arrive at thefirst perforated plate 42. Meat 136 approaching the outer region of thefirst perforated plate 42, more than ⅓ of the radius from the center, isvoid of undesirable material. As such, extending the indentations 56 tothe perimeter first perforated plate 42 is not required. Theindentations 56 need only extend outward as far as the undesirablematerial is distributed when the meat 136 and the undesirable materialarrives at the first perforated plate 42. Preferably the indentations 56extend no more than halfway, and more preferably no more than one thirdof the way to toward the perimeter of the first perforated plate 42.

Once at the first perforated plate 42, the balance of the migration ofthe undesired material relative to the meat 136 occurs along the face ofthe first perforated plate 42. With each of the indentations 56 indirect communication with one or more curved opening 54, the distance oftravel of undesirable material is minimized, allowing for less totalfriction and preventing plugging of the interior rifling 18, of theindentations 56 and of the holes 48 and the stalling of collection ofthe undesirable material.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first grinder housing 16 is provided with afirst inlet 60 in fluid communication with the hopper 24, a first outlet62 defined by the holes 48 in the first perforated plate 42, and asecond outlet 64 defined by the curved openings 54 in the firstperforated plate 42. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the first stud pin36 extends through the drive shaft opening 52 in the first perforatedplate 42. A second grinder housing 66 is threaded onto the threaded hub50 provided on the first perforated plate 42. The threaded hub 50 is aleft hand ACME thread. The left hand threading of the hub in theapplication, specifically where the grinder is performing a final grindoperation and reversing the direction of auger rotation is notavailable, is self tightening. Preferably, the ACME threads are providedwith an increased lead angle. Higher lead angle means that the torqueprovided by the rotation of the first drive shaft 26 cannot over tightenthe second grinder housing 66. Over a period of grinding, vibration andgrinding torque causes UNC threaded connections associated with theprior art to overtighten resulting in a connection difficult toseparate. The lead angle is preferably 5-20 times, more preferably 8-14times and most preferably 11 times. This increased lead angle preventsthe wedge of the threads from over tightening, resulting in a connectionthat is tight but easily undone after hours of grinding.

The second grinder housing 66 may be of any desired configuration but ispreferably provided with a cylindrical portion 68 that opens to afrusto-conical portion 70. As shown generally in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 6, the interior of the second grinder housing 66 isprovided with a plurality of recesses forming flutes 72 that allow theflights 74 provided on the second drive shaft 76 to move meat throughthe second grinder housing 66. As shown in FIG. 7, the first stud pin 36is provided with a key 78 that locks into a keyway 80 provided in thefirst drive shaft 26. The first stud pin 36 is also provided with anarrower diameter shaft 82 on to which is frictionally fit the firstknife blade holder 38 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 7). The first stud pin 36 is alsoprovided with a square drive 84 that fits into a square slot 88 providedin the second drive shaft 76 (FIGS. 2, 3, 7 and 8 b). In the preferredembodiment of the present invention, the drive shaft is constructed ofthe first drive shaft 26, the first stud pin 36, the second drive shaft76, and a second stud pin 92. Alternatively, the drive shaft may bemonolith, or constructed of any desired number of pieces.

As shown in FIGS. 8 a-c, the second drive shaft 76 is provided with afirst set of flights 74, and a second set of flights 75. The pitch ofthe flights 74 and 75 decreases as the flights 74 and 75 extend from therear of the second drive shaft 76 to the front of the second drive shaft76. The first set of flights 74 and the second set of flights 75 combineto maintain the correct pressure and centrifugal force on meat movingthrough the second grinder housing 66 to motivate the meat toward theexterior and concentrate undesirable material toward the center. Thedouble wrap flighting and conical shape of the second drive shaft 76yields better meat flow control and separation of undesirable material.The pitch of the flights 74 is constant. To generate a reduction inscrew volume, the flights 75 emerge from the second drive shaft 76. Theaspect ratio between the flight thickness and the void between theflights 74 and 75 is ⅜″ thickness to 1.5″ pitch. When the flights 75emerge from the second drive shaft 76, the volume of the second driveshaft 76 is reduced to 50% of the original volume. This geometryfunctions as a choke point that limits the amount of meat andundesirable material that can be transferred through the second meatgrinder 14 and causes an increase in velocity and hydrodynamic pressure.Under such conditions, the undesirable material dislodges from the meat.Immediately following the choke point, the volume of the second driveshaft 76 increases rapidly due to the conical shape of the flights 74and 75. The increase in volume decreases the velocity and hydrodynamicpressure and causes the dislodged undesirable material to precipitateout of the desirable meat under centrifugal force.

The front end of the second drive shaft 76 is provided with a squareopening 86 to accommodate the square drive 90 of the second stud pin 92.As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the second stud pin 92 is provided with acylindrical stop 94 and a square drive 93 to accommodate a second knifeholder 98 which fits onto the square drive 93 of the second stud pin 92.As shown in FIG. 3, a set of knife blades 100 is also provided over thesecond stud pin 92 and into engagement with the second knife holder 98.While in the preferred embodiment, the set of knife blades 100 ismonolith, the knife blades 100 may be separate and individually coupledto the second knife holder 98 either permanently, or replaceably, ifdesired.

Provided over the front of the second grinder housing 66 is a secondperforated plate 102 (FIGS. 3 and 10). The second perforated plate 102is held in place by a second ring nut 104 screwed into mating engagementwith second threads 106 provided on the exterior of the second grinderhousing 66. While the second perforated plate 102 may be of any typeknown in the art, in the preferred embodiment, the second perforatedplate 102 is a standard 5⅛″ perforated grinder plate having a pluralityof holes 108 and a center threaded hub 110 defining a discharge hole112. The second stud pin 92 is provided with a helical groove 96 asshown in FIG. 9 that acts as an auger to move undesirable materialthrough the discharge hole 112. As shown in FIG. 3, threaded on to thethreaded hub 110 is a discharge tube 114, preferably at least 3″ long.In this arrangement, the portion of the second grinder housing 66provided over the curved openings 54 of the first perforated plate 42forms an inlet 116 into the second grinder housing 66. As shown in FIG.10, holes 108 in the second perforated plate 102 provide a first outlet118 from the second grinder housing 66 and the discharge hole 112provides a second outlet 120 from the second grinder housing 66.

Also provided on the second perforated plate 102 are three receivingwalls 150 that define three curved openings 152. As shown in FIG. 10,the three receiving walls 150 are simply the interior walls of the threecurved openings 152. The curved openings 152 are similar to thosedescribed above in reference to the first perforated plate 42. Like thefirst perforated plate 42, the second perforated plate 102 is providedwith a plurality of indentations 154. As the curved openings 152 andindentations 154 are similar to one another, description will be limitedto a single indentation 154 with it being understood that supplementalcurved openings 152 and supplemental indentations 154 are preferably ofa similar construction.

The indentation 154 of the second perforated plate 102 is provided witha bottom face 158 and end wall 160. As opposed to the semi-circularcross-sections of the indentations 56 of the first perforated plate 42,as shown in FIG. 10, the cross-section of the indentation 154 of thesecond perforated plate 102 is rectangular, formed by a pair of opposingsidewalls 156 and the bottom face 158. As shown in FIG. 10, a surface162 of the second perforated plate 102 is coupled to the end wall 160 todefine a first angle 164 there between. Similarly, the end wall 160 iscoupled to the bottom face 158 to define a second angle 166therebetween, and the sidewall 156 and the bottom face 158 define anangle 168 therebetween. The curved opening 152 is in communication withthe indentation 154. The bottom face 158 is coupled to the receivingwall 150 of the curved opening 152 to define a third angle 170therebetween.

As shown in FIGS. 2-3, a flexible hose 122 is secured over the dischargetube 114 with a hose clamp 124. The flexible hose 122 preferablydischarges into a waste bin 126. As shown, an air compressor 128 iscoupled via a hose 130 to straight or angled inlet 132 provided on thedischarge tube 114. Provided along the hose 130 is a valve 134, such asthose known in the art, to regulate the flow of air from the aircompressor 128 into the discharge tube 114.

When it is desired to operate the meat grinding assembly 10 of thepresent invention, a quantity of meat 136, which is preferably more than500 kg, is provided into the hopper 24. As the motor 30 turns the firstdrive shaft 26, the flights 28 grab the meat 136 and move the meat 136forward from the hopper 24 into the first inlet 60 of the first grinderhousing 16. The rifling 18 on the interior of the first grinder housing16 co-acts with the flights 28 of the first drive shaft 26 to move themeat 136 forward, as opposed to simply spinning the meat 136 in place.The first drive shaft 26 forces the meat 136 at least partially into theholes 48 in the first perforated plate 42. The knife inserts 40 cut andgrind the meat 136 into smaller portions that the first drive shaft 26continues to push through the holes 48 in the first perforated plate 42.The remainder of the meat 136, including gristle, hard fat, connectivetissue, sinew, bone, and foreign contaminants are too big to fit throughthe holes 48 in the first perforated plate 42. As the undesirablematerial is of a lower density than the meat 136, the combination offorces from the first drive shaft 26 and knife inserts 40 impartscentrifugal forces to the meat 136 and undesirable material, pushing theundesirable material toward the center of the first perforated plate 42.

The speed of the motor 30 and pitch of the flights 28 are preferablysuch that rotation of the first drive shaft 26 leverages centrifugalforce to drive meat 136 toward the perimeter of the first perforatedplate 42 and undesirable material toward the interior of the firstgrinder housing 16. The first drive shaft 26 and knife inserts 40continue to drive the undesirable material inward until the undesirablematerial contacts the indentations 56 provided in the first perforatedplate 42, whereafter the pressure from meat 136 driven by the flights 28and riffling 18 presses the undesirable material 138 along theindentations 56 and into the curved openings 54. Because the holes 48 ofthe first perforated plate 42 are smaller than the undesirable material138, the undesirable material 138 cannot pass through the holes 48 ofthe first perforated plate 42. However, since the curved openings 54 arelarger than the undesirable material 138, the undesirable material 138exits the first grinder housing 16 through the second outlet 64 of thecurved openings 54, while the meat 136 exits the first grinder housingthrough the first outlet 62.

The system is designed to induct enough separated desirable meat throughthe curved openings 54 to ensure that all of the undesirable material ispushed through the curved openings 54. Failure to push some desirableseparated meat through the curved openings 54 along with the undesirablematerial allows a portion of the undesirable material to accumulate inthe first grinder 12 until pressures escalate and undesirable materialbegins to be ground by the first grinder 12.

Exiting the first grinder housing 16 through the first perforated plate42, the ground meat 140 falls into a catch hopper 142 (FIGS. 1 and 11).The processed material, including some desirable meat and theundesirable material 138 moves through the curved openings 54 into thesecond grinder housing 66 where the flights 74 and 75 coupled to thesecond drive shaft 76 co-act with the flutes 72 to drive the processedmaterial 138 forward. As the flights 74 and 75 continue to contact theprocessed material 138, the flights separate reclaimed meat 144 fromwaste material 146, pushing the reclaimed meat 144 toward the perimeterof the second perforated plate 102 and concentrating the undesirablematerial 146, and some fat as the carrier of the undesirable material146, toward the interior.

Processed material rich in undesirable material flowing into the secondgrinder is moved forward by flights 74 and 75. The geometry of theflights 74 and 75 functions as a throat, limiting the amount ofprocessed material flowing to the second perforated plate 102, andcauses a pressure rise that aides in the separation of meat andundesirable material and helps drive the undesirable material out of thedischarge tube 114. As the flights 74 and 75 move the reclaimed meat 144and undesirable material 146 forward, the second set of knife blades 100cuts the reclaimed meat 144 into small enough pieces to pass through theholes 108 in the second perforated plate 102 and drives the undesirablematerial 146 along indentations 148 provided in the second perforatedplate 102 and out the discharge hole 112 (FIGS. 10 and 11). Accordingly,reclaimed meat 144 exits the second grinder housing 66 through the firstoutlet 118 of the holes 108 in the second perforated plate 102 while thewaste material, substantially devoid of protein, with fat as thecarrier, exits the second grinder housing 66 through the second outlet120 which is the discharge hole. From the holes 108 of the secondperforated plate 102, the reclaimed meat falls into the catch hopper 142and is processed along with the ground meat 140 as known in the art. Theundesirable material 146, however, exits the discharge hole 112 into thedischarge tube 114. As the flights 74 and 75 connected to the seconddrive shaft 76 continue to put pressure on the undesirable material 146,the undesirable material 146 moves through the discharge tube 114 intothe flexible hose 122 and into the waste bin 126. In the event that theundesirable material 146 becomes stuck in the flexible hose 122, thevalve 134 is actuated to move air from the air compressor 128 into theflexible hose 122 to continue the movement of the undesirable material146 toward the waste bin 126. If desired, the valve 134 may be set witha predetermined amount of air pressure to keep the undesirable material146 moving continuously into the waste bin 126 or intermittently asdesired.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferredembodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be solimited, since changes and modifications can be made therein which arewithin the full, intended scope of this invention, as defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plate for use in a meat grinding assembly,comprising: a plate surface; a drive shaft opening extending through theplate surface; an outer edge; at least one opening spaced radially apartfrom the drive shaft opening and positioned between the drive shaftopening and the outer edge; at least one elongated indentation recessedwithin the plate surface that is in communication with at least one endof the at least one opening and extending from the at least one openingtowards the outer edge of the plate; and wherein the at least oneindentation defines an end wall coupled to the plate surface and abottom face coupled to the end wall, and wherein the at least oneopening defines a receiving wall coupled to the bottom face of the atleast one indentation; and wherein the bottom face of the at least onindentation comprises a curved surface.
 2. The plate of claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of holes extending through the plate surface. 3.The plate of claim 2, wherein the plurality of holes extend between theouter edge of the plate and the at least one opening and at leastpartially surround the at least one indentation along a portion of theat least one indentation.
 4. The plate of claim 1, wherein the at leastone opening comprises a first opening, a second opening and a thirdopening.
 5. The plate of claim 1, wherein the at least one opening iskidney-shaped.
 6. The plate of claim 1, wherein the at least oneindentation includes a surface that leads to the at least one opening,wherein the surface is one of flat, curved, angled, arcuate, sloped, andinclined.
 7. The plate of claim 1 wherein the at least one indentationcomprises a curvilinear cross-sectional shape.
 8. The plate of claim 1,wherein the end wall of the at least one indentation coupled to theplate surface is at least partially rounded and wherein at least aportion of the end wall extending between the plate surface and thebottom face of the at least one indentation comprises a curved or slopedsurface.
 9. The plate of claim 1, wherein the plate surface and the endwall of the at least one indentation define a first angle, and whereinthe end wall of the at least one indentation and the bottom face definea second angle, and wherein the bottom face of the at least oneindentation and the receiving wall of the at least one opening define athird angle.
 10. The plate of claim 2, wherein the plurality of holeseach have a diameter and the at least one opening has a width, whereinthe width of the at least one opening is between 3 to 5 times thediameter of the plurality of holes.
 11. A plate for use in a meatgrinding assembly comprising, a first plate surface; a center hubopening extending through the plate; an outer edge; a first curvedopening and a second curved opening located adjacent to and spacedradially outwardly from the center hub opening; wherein the first andsecond curved openings comprise opposing elongated side walls; a firstelongated indentation and a second elongated indentation recessed withinthe first plate surface, wherein the first elongated indentation is incommunication with an end of the first opening and the second elongatedindentation is in communication with and end of the second opening; andwherein each of the first and second elongated indentations extend fromeach of the respective first and second openings towards the outer edgeof the plate, and wherein each of the first and second indentationscomprise a bottom face having a curvilinear cross-sectional shape. 12.The plate of claim 11 wherein each of the first and second curvedopenings comprise opposing elongated curved side walls and at least onecurved end wall.
 13. The plate of claim 12 wherein the first elongatedindentation extends radially outwardly from the at least one curved endwall of the first curved opening, and wherein the second elongatedindentation extends radially outwardly from the at least one curved endwall of the second curved opening.
 14. The plate of claim 11 wherein theplate further comprises a second plate surface opposite the first platesurface and wherein the center hub opening protrudes outwardly from atleast one of the first plate surface and the second plate surface. 15.The plate of claim 14 wherein the center hub opening further comprisesone or more threads.
 16. The plate of claim 11 further comprising: athird curved opening located adjacent to and spaced radially outwardlyfrom the center hub opening; a third elongated indentation recessedwithin the first plate surface, wherein the third elongated indentationis in communication with an end of the third opening; and wherein thethird elongated indentation extends from the third opening towards theouter edge of the plate, and wherein the third elongated indentationcomprises a curvilinear cross-sectional shape.
 17. The plate of claim 16wherein the first, second and third curved openings extend through asurface of the center hub opening.
 18. The plate of claim 11, furthercomprising a plurality of holes extending through the plate and whereinthe plurality of holes at least partially surround the first and secondindentations.
 19. The plate of claim 12, wherein the at least one curvedend wall of each of the first and second indentations comprises a curvedor sloped surface.